Tiketek’s dynamic pricing hits a government-sponsored charity show as federal reform closes in.

The Songs of John Farnham concert in September, caused grief for fans when premium seats hit $1,650 through dynamic pricing, even though the event was in a public owned stadium and backed by state government.

Tiketek isthe Australian arm of TEG Pty Ltd, which is owned by US private equity firm Silver Lake. Similar to others such as Ticketmaster, Tiketek is part of a global corporate structure where the big calls on pricing technology get made well outside Australia.

The federal government’s proposed consumer law reforms would make algorithm-driven price escalation at checkout an unfair trading practice. Victoria already caps ticket resale at 10% above face value under the Major Events Act 2009, but that only covers the secondary market. 

So a fan who tries to flip a ticket for several times its value risks legal penalties, whilst a globally-owned platform that lets an algorithm do the same thing during the initial on-sale is operating entirely within the law.

That gap is exactly what ALMBC advocacy is trying to close through numerous submissions and ongoing advocacy.